Call for more women in leading roles in sporting clubs

Former football player, coach and Independent MP Phil Cleary is asking Gippsland sporting associations to put women in positions of authority in clubs to encourage gender equality. Mr Cleary is a guest speaker at a series of information sessions from GippSport and Gippsland Women's Health Service called 'Women in Your Club: Working Towards Gender Equality'.

Mr Cleary's sister was a victim of violence and it has inspired him to campaign on the issue.

"It's really good to get people together in local settings in the community to talk about critical questions such as the role of women in sporting clubs," he says.

Mr Cleary says women need to be more than the people who cut oranges for the team or carry water onto the grounds.

"The more you engage women in the local club in positions of power and status the better the standing of women becomes in the community," he says.

He hopes that through sport women will become more respected and less likely to fall victim to violence or abuse.

Gone are the days when female strippers are used for fundraising nights and club rooms are male only sanctuaries, but there is still progress to be made, Mr Cleary says.

"We need to break the edifice and football is a very male dominated sport but a massive number of women follow football so if you start to see women taking significant roles in the football club that has an impact on the perceptions of young men and men generally."

Richard Hall, president of the Wellington Hockey Club, attended one of the information sessions at the Sale Football Club.

He says he is battling the problem of male players and supporters abusing female coaches and umpires on the field.

"It's my job as president and our community to put a stop to it. I have to make a club decision that we're not going to stand for it and we have policies so we'll follow the policies and make sure that they're implemented," Mr Hall says.